!Kung

The !Kung are a people who live in the Kalahari desert and Ovamboland of northern Namibia, southern Angola, and Botswana, numbering 100,000 people. The !Kung language is 40,000 years old, employing a linguistic system of clicking that originated as a code language among hunters. The !Kung believe in animism, and they are a nonviolent people, lacking a word for "fight" in their language; they also criticize hunters and their bounties as a means of preventing them from becoming arrogant. During the 1950s, the introduction of cattle ranches, water pollution, the disappearance of native vegetation, and governmental pressure to encourage permanent settlements with European-style houses began to interfere with the !Kung way of living. In the early 1980s, diamonds were discovered in the !Kung reserve in Botswana, and the government forced the !Kung to relocate as the diamonds were mined. In 1997, 2002, and 2005, virtually all of the !Kung bushmen were forced from their homes, and the government dismantled their homes, closed their school and health post, and destroyed their water supply. In 2006, the !Kung were allowed back onto their lands, but the government cemented over their only water borehole, making it hard for the !Kung to find water. The government also arrested and intimidated Bushmen over their hunting activities, which were banned due to lack of permits. Today, the Bushmen are Botswana's poorest citizens.